Two other detasselers also were injured by electrical shocks
Monday. Delanie Knapp, 14, was in serious condition Wednesday at
OSF St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, Ill. Her sister, Bailey
Knapp, 15, has been treated at CGH Medical Center in Sterling and
released.

Meanwhile, investigators are still trying to determine what
caused Monday's accident.

The 160-acre farm field near Tampico is owned by Donald "Goody"
Matthews and his wife, Virginia, of Walnut. They speculated Tuesday
that their irrigation equipment, which they said they bought in
1976, had been struck by lightning.

Tom Helscher, a spokesman for Monsanto, said Wednesday that
"damage from a lightning strike may have been a factor in the
accident."

The Matthews couple contracts with Monsanto for the planting and
harvesting of their corn crop.

A team from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
was continuing its investigation Wednesday. When asked if lightning
may have been a factor, spokesman Scott Allen said that's
speculation.

"We're looking at all the facts," Allen said. "We don't have the
determination as to the cause as of yet."

The investigation could take up to six months to complete, he
said.

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OSHA is working with the Whiteside County Sheriff's Office and
Commonwealth Edison to investigate the cause.

In a news release issued Wednesday, ComEd representative Bennie
Currie said the company is working with local authorities and the
property owner to determine what happened and whether any ComEd
equipment was involved.

"We do not own irrigation equipment," Currie said in the
statement.

The Whiteside County Sheriff's Office also would not comment on
the possibility of a lightning strike.

"We're putting the pieces together at this time," Lt. Andy
Henson said. "People are mourning and learning. Everything is too
fresh at this point."

Henson said Monsanto's detasseling crews were back out in the
farm fields Wednesday. The company temporarily ceased its work at
the location after the accident.

Henson said that when he was a teenager, he used to detassel
over the summer for $5 an hour. He added that he cannot recall if
he was ever told to stay away from the irrigators.